


from zero

by jaewinist



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Enemies to Lovers, Enemy Lovers, Fluff, M/M, Pining, based on irish myths, cliodhna, god of love and beauty! sicheng, god of the sea! jaehyun, jaehyun being jealous lowkey, jaehyun is whipped, jaewin, my first time writing fantasy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:55:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27263086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaewinist/pseuds/jaewinist
Summary: Sicheng is the God of Love and Beauty. One day he met a certain someone that makes him willing to give up his mortality. The other old Irish deities made their feelings on his transgression known by commanding the God of Sea, Jaehyun lulled him to sleep and made him get swept away by waves, making him never meet his lover again. But what if jaehyun actually saved him and they both slowly fall in love?
Relationships: Dong Si Cheng | WinWin/Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun
Kudos: 20
Collections: Winwin's Witching Hour





	from zero

**Author's Note:**

> hello i decided i would like to participate in the sixth day of winwin's witching hour teehee!! never really wrote something myth related, especially the Irish one, im not Irish, so im so sorry if i upset you or smth;-; my friend give me the idea and im doing my research before writing, and this is definitely inspired by the Cliodhna tales but with some spins on it. genuinely love writing this, but im in such a hurry, so sorry for the fast paced at the end sfhsdgfs
> 
> anyway, definitely un-beta-ed, but i hope you'll still enjoy this<3
> 
> happy reading!

Sicheng is a God of Love and Beauty. As a God of Love and Beauty, he somehow got a task to help humans, especially sailors in the ocean. If someone gets sick, Sicheng has 3 birds that surround him who could sing songs that cure every illness. They would get sleepy after hearing the songs, and would wake up feeling healthy after that. He also would help sailors who drown, and help them get back to the beach as well. He never really cared about falling in love with humans. He’s indeed the God of Love and Beauty, so it’s bound to happen if any human who sees him would fall in love immediately. But he never really takes any favourites from humans. He’s an immortal anyway. They’re not meant to be together too. And that’s his usual routine in the world, before he got back to Tir Tairngire, the land of promise in the underworld. 

He lives like that for some centuries, he does his job well too. He loves to help everyone. Until one day, as always, Sicheng sees the raging sea. There were huge storms in the sea, and he spotted one ship sails through it all. He could only pray that everyone there was safe, while sending his birds to check out if anyone was sick or not.

“I swear to God, of course that God of the Sea has to make everything hard for me. What’s with him anyway? Did he have some emotional issue or something to make big storms every single day?” Sicheng mutters under his breath.

Sicheng looks around if the deity himself is there to watch the chaos he made, but of course he’s nowhere to be seen.

“Of course, of course, he would cover himself and his city with those fog so no one would find him.” Sicheng sighs, once again praying this all would be done soon, so he could just go home and rest.

But indeed hope was only hope. The storms got much bigger and the ship started to lean towards one side, and Sicheng saw someone fall from the sail. Oh dear, it’s like a little mermaid moment all over again. It’s not his first time seeing someone fall from the ship during storms, while it’s not hard for him to save them, but it’s still a hussle because he would have to escort him to the beach, and you should know by now that ship is sailing in the deep sea. This would take a pretty long time. 

He’s signaling to his birds that he needs to escort someone, and then he starts escorting the said sailor. Since it’s still storming, of course even though Sicheng already does his best to float him up as soon as he can, he’s probably already have too much water on his lungs, hence he’s unconscious. 

Sicheng slowly escorts him back to the beach. Usually he would enjoy doing this if the sea isn’t raging like this, but nevertheless, this is his job. Thankfully, because of his power, it actually didn’t take too long for them to reach the beach. Now he just needs to wait for his birds to come back and help him heal this poor human. Sicheng looks at him meticulously, it’s been awhile since he saw a human that beautiful. He has beautiful golden brown hair, his eyelashes look so long, and also his cheeks look so pale and a bit plump. He’s cute, Sicheng decides. 

Once his birds are back, they immediately sing the song, which makes the human sleep deeply instead of passing out. Despite the annoying storms God of the Sea made, today is actually a pretty good day, so instead of walking away immediately, Sicheng decides he would stay there until the said human woke up. It's been awhile since he got to relax and just stare at the sea after the storms, which is so beautiful. The sun starts to set, and also there's a rainbow. It’s such a beautiful sight. 

_ “It’s been a while since you waited for the human to wake up?” _

Sensing his birds talking to him, Sicheng whipped his head towards them, and he just laughed, “Yeah indeed it’s been awhile since I waited for the human to wake up. But believe me, I just want to relax.” 

_ “Are you sure it’s a good idea? What if they fall for you? You should remember the boundary between Gods and humans.”  _ The birds talk again.

He then answered, “It’s not like humans have never seen me before. It’s just a bonus to get saved by us and be able to look at me, right? I know my boundary, no need to worry.”

It actually didn’t take too long until the human woke up. He looks around him and realizes he’s at the beach. And then he realized Sicheng was seated beside him. 

He mutters by himself, “Oh my God, so it’s not just a nightmare. Thank God I’m saved.”

“Hey, are you okay?” Sicheng notices the human beside him is trembling.

And there it is, it’s the moment when they both look into each other eyes. If the human falls in love after locking eyes with Sicheng, it’s totally normal, but this time it’s actually Sicheng who can’t look away. The gaze from the human feels too strong for Sicheng, and he feels like he’s feeling something he shouldn’t. He might fall in love.

“What’s your name?” Sicheng asks impulsively, even though his birds behind him are already warning him to not fall too deep.

“I’m Jungwoo.” The human smiles brightly. “Aren’t you that God who always helps humans, especially sailors in the sea? It’s my pleasure to meet you.”

“Well, it’s my pleasure to meet you, pretty human. Just call me Sicheng, won’t you?” Sicheng grins, offering his hand to Jungwoo.

“Okay, Sicheng.” Jungwoo holds his hand and shakes it. “I know it’s your job to help humans, but would you give me an honour to get dinner with you? Just say this as a thanks from me.”

Sicheng smirks, “Sure. Where to?” 

“My crew would be at the port by now, let’s go there?” Jungwoo points at their left.

“Sure, sure.” Jungwoo then takes Sicheng’s hand and intertwines them together.

For the first time in forever, Sicheng lets one human hold his hand and intertwines them, it’s definitely a guilty pleasure for him. Jungwoo’s hand somehow fit with him perfectly, not to mention how soft it is, and Sicheng didn’t have any intention to let go of his hand. 

Jungwoo indeed brings him to his ship, the one that he got fall off back then. His crew immediately welcomes him, and asks him if he was okay, but soon gets silent because they notice Sicheng’s existence. 

Jungwoo noticing the switch in the mood immediately says, “Hey, do not worry. He’s my guest for tonight.” 

“Oh, thank you Sir for blessing us with your existence.” One of the crew members bowed to Sicheng.

“That’s totally fine.” Sicheng ushers him to just wake up. “Shall we eat dinner now?”

Jungwoo and the crew quickly start to prepare dinner, while Sicheng is having a talk with his birds on the deck.

“Don’t look at me like that please.” Sicheng sighs as his birds fly around him.

_ “We told you to know your boundary with humans.” _

“I know, I know. But he’s just so beautiful. I have never felt something like this before. You know I can’t take it for granted.” Sicheng defends himself.

_ “You’ll regret this later.” _

“I’m not sure if this is something I would regret later, but you know, I’m the God of Love and Beauty himself, of course if someone’s beauty could be seen even by me, he’s indeed so beautiful. And also, I’m not sure if this is love, but if it is, I love this feeling.” Sicheng stares at Jungwoo who’s still preparing the dinner. 

_ “But do you understand the consequences of having a special relationship with humans? We’re scared you’ll cross the line just out of your impulsive moves.” _

“I understand. No, I’m not gonna act out of my impulse. You don’t have to worry about me you know?” Sicheng laughs.

And suddenly Jungwoo’s crew member called him, “Sir, the dinner’s ready.”

Sicheng nods, and follows him to their dining table. The dishes Jungwoo prepared are pretty extravagant. Sicheng could tell this is their special dish. Jungwoo pulls out the chair and lets Sicheng sit there. And then he finally seated himself next to Sicheng. 

“So what do you think?” Jungwoo asks, his eyes somehow sparkles so brightly.

“I usually don't really have an appetite seeing humans’ food, but this looks pretty good.” Sicheng smiles, letting one of the crew members pour a red wine to his glass.

“I’m glad then. So, let’s dig in?” Jungwoo grins.

“Sure. Mind to do the cheers?” Sicheng motioning at his wine glass.

“Right, right!” Jungwoo nods, and he finally stands up. “Dear fellow sailor, here I am standing to celebrate our gathering today, with the blessing of the God of Love and Beauty himself.” Jungwoo motions at Sicheng. “Today, I almost lost my life, when Sicheng grace me with his help. And now, I’m standing here, inviting you guys to cheers for him. And for us. May our next voyage be blessed always. Cheers!”

They all cheer together, and start to dig into their foods. Jungwoo was seated again when Sicheng said, “Nice speech you got there.”

“Ah, you can’t even call it a speech.” Jungwoo laughs. “Anyway, shall we dig in now?”

Sicheng nods, and starts to eat. It was pretty good. As he said before, he didn’t really have an appetite for humans’ food, but this one is pretty great for him. Jungwoo must be a good cook, or he just whipped, he’s not even sure. 

Instead of focusing on his food, Sicheng ended up focusing on Jungwoo. The way he nods along as he eats because he enjoys it, the way his eyes shine when he finally takes a sip of his fresh water, everything about him is just so beautiful, Sicheng could never get enough.

“Are you okay? You didn’t like the food?” Jungwoo definitely notices Sicheng staring at him.

“Ah no, it’s good actually. It’s just…you’re beautiful.” Sicheng says unabashedly.

Jungwoo gasps, he doesn't know what to say so Sicheng just laughs, “It’s cute how you react to compliment. But I do mean it.” 

“Well, it’s not everyday I got complimented that I’m beautiful, and more so, from God himself?” Jungwoo tries to brush off the topic. “Anyway, once again, this is just for my gratitude, but are you willing to stay the night? I could give you our best room.” 

Sicheng could hear his birds screaming no at him, but well, once in a while you’re allowed to do things out of your impulse, so he nods, “Yes, sure.”

Jungwoo smiles so brightly and bid his good night to his crew members, before leading Sicheng to his room for tonight. The hallway leads them to a dead end, with 2 big doors on each side. 

“This is my room.” Jungwoo points to the left. “And this is yours.” He then points to the right. “If you have anything to ask, don’t hesitate to knock on my door.”

“Okay.” Sicheng simply nods. “Thank you Jungwoo. Good night.”

“I should be the one who thank you, and yeah, good night.” Jungwoo waves.

Sicheng went into his room, and Jungwoo didn’t lie when he said he gave him the best room. It’s spacious, and also the vibe is pretty comfortable. In his suite, there’s even a balcony where he could see the ocean view. Although, it might not be as spacious as his room in Tir Tairngire, but of course this will do for tonight. Sicheng can’t stop his birds around, assuming they’re getting pissed off by Sicheng’s decision tonight, but well, he would be the one who takes the consequences anyway. 

After taking a shower, Sicheng lay down on his bed. Today feels a bit different from him. No, it’s not the fact that he didn’t return to Tir Tairngire tonight, it’s more like this whole day has been pretty unusual for him. He never felt like this before. And weirdly, Sicheng isn’t against whatever he’s feeling now. He started his day as usual, and his jobs are actually quite much today since apparently the God of Sea feeling rage today and making a huge thunderstorm in the middle of the sea. And that’s when he got to see Jungwoo, just the usual human he would help on a daily basis, but why did he feel different this time? Meeting him, eating dinner with him, and staying the night here, are definitely not on his plan. 

No matter how much Sicheng thinks about what's happening to him, his mind keeps bringing him back to Jungwoo. Usually he’s not the type who acts out of his impulse, but today is different. After weighing his choices for some time, Sicheng finally made his way to Jungwoo’s room. He knocked on his door, and Jungwoo immediately showed up.

“Oh, hi Sicheng. How can I help you?” Jungwoo opens his door.

“Nothing much actually, I just need some company. Mind if I come in?” Sicheng asks carefully, not wanting to scare or creep Jungwoo out.

“Of course I don’t mind, please come in!” Jungwoo lets Sicheng go first, then he follows. 

Jungwoo’s room is pretty spacious too, but Sicheng guesses it’s not as big as the one Jungwoo gave him. It somehow feels comfortable too, he could sense Jungwoo has been living there, the room smells like him. Jungwoo really takes care of his room, so it’s so clean and tidy. So he just stood there looking around, not knowing where to sit as he’s scared he would mess up Jungwoo’s room.

“Please just sit here.” Jungwoo pats on his bed, and lets Sicheng sit next to him. They both just sit in silence, in between low TV noises. 

“If you don’t mind…. Can I ask you about your daily life?” Jungwoo breaks the silence and asks Sicheng.

Sicheng just grins, “Sure, sure. I’ll tell you everything.”

In the end, they both exchange stories about their daily life. Jungwoo usually will have his cruise for 3 days until a week, then he’ll rest for 1-2 days before going on a cruise again. Jungwoo mostly spends his time with his crew just because he doesn't really have a family anymore. They both keep sharing stories, until they realize it’s midnight already. Time really flies so fast. Sicheng indeed enjoyed his conversation with Jungwoo more than he should. It just feels like he’s falling more and more deeply as they speak to each other. 

“I know this could be too much, but do you want to stay here? With me?” Jungwoo asks shyly.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you if I could sleep here.” Sicheng smiles, tidying the blanket and lay beside Jungwoo.

Once Sicheng settled in, Jungwoo asked again, “This might be rude for me to ask, but… have you done these things before? With other humans?” 

“Hmm, staying the night in the same bed with humans? Or the falling in love part?” 

Sicheng could see Jungwoo blushing, it’s pretty endearing to see. 

“Uhm, both?”

“You’re my first one.” Sicheng answers, smiling at Jungwoo as he tries to intertwine their hands together. “I swear I never planned this to happen, you know how I basically didn’t have any interest in any humans I’ve met before. But you, you’re an exception. The first time I laid my eyes on you, you just have a different vibe to others. You make me feel things, I’ve never felt something like this ever before. I’ve lived for long enough, but you’re my first.”

“I know what I did was all just from an impulsive move, I don’t even know you would say yes when I invite you to dinner. You’re indeed the God of Love and Beauty, just look at you. No one won’t fall in love with you, I’m not an exception too. So having you here with me now, is definitely an honour for me. I know loving a God is probably a sin, but if that is so, let me sin once as I can’t help myself.” Jungwoo looks at their intertwined hands. “This feels so right somehow.”

“I agree. You know I can’t favour one single human being as a God right? It could be considered as sin as well, but for you, I’m willing to do that. You make me feel things that I’ve never felt before for centuries, Jungwoo. I don’t know if you understand this, but that means so much to me. You somehow make me feel even more alive?” Sicheng sighs, now cupping Jungwoo’s face. “I know this might be an impulsive move too, it’s only been one day since I know you, but I love you. I truly love you Jungwoo. I have always been the one who blesses someone with love, but this time, I feel like I’m the one who's been blessed by love.”

“Wow, that’s some beautiful words.” Jungwoo blinks. “And of course, you’re beautiful too.”

“Stop making me fall more deeply for you.” 

Jungwoo just chuckles. Sicheng is indeed very whipped for this human in front of him, he looks so beautiful. They both just stare at each other until Sicheng finally closes the gap between them. Sicheng goes for Jungwoo’s lips. It somehow feels liberating, moving his lips against Jungwoo’s lips. The small noise he makes even feels like a beautiful melody for Sicheng’s ears. 

“Wait.” Jungwoo pulls away. “Is this okay? Are we… okay?” 

Sicheng sighs, but smiles eventually, “To be honest, as I said to you before, this is the first time I get to feel this feeling Jungwoo. For centuries, I never felt this. If it comes to you, I guess I am even willing to give away my mortality, just to stay with you.”

“You can do that? Oh lord, Sicheng, you don’t have to. What about your life as a God later?” Jungwoo shakes his head.

“Jungwoo, I’ve told you before, I’m willing to give my everything, just to be with you. You’re like a miracle for me.” Sicheng explains after he plants a kiss on Jungwoo’s head. “But the question here is, are you willing to spend the rest of your life with me?”

“Silly question.” Jungwoo giggles through Sicheng’s chest. “Of course I am.” 

Sicheng holds Jungwoo so he’s closer to him, and strokes his back, “Good, because soon, you'll be stuck with me.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

* * *

The next day, Sicheng immediately went back to Tir Tairngire. Of course, not forgetting to bid his short goodbye to Jungwoo. They promise to meet again 3 days after this, giving Sicheng time to manage all his stuff and officially giving his mortality away to be human. 

As expected, his birds are all against the idea. They keep scolding Sicheng from the moment he showed up to them again, and even until now. 

They’re in Sicheng’s room as he packed up, and he even tried to write a note to give up his mortality already.

_ “Dong Sicheng, are you losing your mind right now?”  _

“Oof, no one called me that holy name again for such a long time. Am I really fucked up this time?” Sicheng sighs, looking at his birds who're currently resting on his bed, glaring at him.

_ “And you still ask that question? The answer is yes. This isn’t a small matter for you, you’re a literal God, and it’s been your job for centuries. We’ve worked together for a long time, and you really want to leave us all jobless now??” _

“Well, exactly! It’s been my job for centuries, didn’t you think I deserve a better routinity than this? Not saying helping humans is a bad job, but I wanna do something else you know. And you’re all not gonna be jobless! They would probably assign you with my cousin, Huang Renjun? Ring any bell? He’s a hardworking person too! Oh heaven, he would probably treat you guys much better than I do too. I know deep down there you’re sick of me already. This all would be a new start for us all!!” Sicheng tries to explain as his birds are still glaring at him.

_ “As we said before, this isn't a small matter for us all. And Huang Renjun? We’ve heard so many good things about him already. But we’re friends Sicheng, we consider you as our family already. And are you literally willing to give up your mortality and even your title as a God just for one mere human being? No offense to him, but seriously Sicheng? After all this time?”  _

“Okay, okay. I got your point, but just to be clear, are we sure we’re on the same frequency now? Just because I need to deliver my points to you all too.” Sicheng stares at them all.

_ “We could try to listen to you. Go ahead.” _

“So… Where do I even start? Dear lord, okay. So… As you guys said before, it’s been centuries since I did all this and hold on to my title right? And you guys know me much better than myself, as you guys said, we’re family. So I thought you would understand this point from me. In those centuries, I’ve never felt anything like this before. This feeling is just so beautiful, it feels liberating, and at the same time, makes me feel so comfortable. Feeling this way makes me think that I want to hold onto this forever, even if this cost me my title and my mortality. I don’t know about you guys, but I thought that I deserve to be loved and to be in love too. I know I’m happy enough with my job, helping the one in need. But this one is just a different kind of happiness. I want to feel this kind of happiness that I never had in my life before, and heck, I live long enough to make a whole biography of myself.” Sicheng chuckles by himself. “Anyway, that’s my point. I understand yours, so I hope you could understand mine too. I know this might be hard. But once again, let’s just think this all as a new start for us all.”

_ “Oh God, you really have to make us feel like shit, aren’t you? Stupid boy, of course we understand your point. And we’re so sorry for not thinking about you as yourself. If that’s what you want, guess we should support you then. Your happiness is indeed the most important one.”  _

“I’m glad that you understand. Thank you for all this time. Please visit me once in a while along with Renjun. He’s a good guy, hope you all get along well with him.” Sicheng pats at his 3 birds. 

_ “Sure, sure. Just make sure to take care of yourself well. We want to meet you in great shape, not when you’re in need of help.” _

“I understand.” Sicheng laughs. “Anyway, I’ll have to meet the Lord tomorrow, so I could get on my way to come back to Jungwoo.”

_ “Good luck boy.” _

* * *

The next day, Sicheng woke up pretty early, and immediately wore his best suits, and ate breakfast much early too. He had some pep talk in front of his mirror, and he’s ready to go. He knocked on the Lord’s door, and waited for someone to open it for him. And there he is, standing in front of the Lord himself.

“Greetings my Lord.” Sicheng bows down.

“Sicheng, the God of Love and Beauty. What an honour I have to get visited by you this early morning.” The Lord greets him back.

“Dear Lord, I actually have a wish. It’s actually a pretty big one too, but I really hope you could grant it for me.” Sicheng slowly says what he’s been meaning to say.

“Oh? What is it?”

“I just wish you could take this title off from me, and also lift this immortality from me, as I wish to live as a human from now on.” Sicheng looks at his foot, as he’s not brave enough to make eye contact with the Lord. “If you wish to talk to my family, I guess they would recommend Huang Renjun to continue my job, he’s a hardworking one too.” 

“Hmm I see. Are you sure about this though? Once it’s done, you could never go back. And have you even talked to your family already? This could go wrong if they didn’t bless you with this obviously.” The Lord warns him.

“I’m sure about this. And I consider my birds as my family, and yes I’ve talked to them already. I’m willing to take the risk, my Lord.” Sicheng bows once again.

“Okay.” The Lord just nods. “Come here my child.”

Sicheng takes a step forward so he stands right in front of the Lord now. The Lord starts doing his magic, and Sicheng braces himself by closing his eyes. And when he opened his eyes, he’s in the humans’ world already.

Jungwoo promises him to meet right after his voyage, which would be around 7pm when he finally decks on the harbour, and he actually still has a long time to wait. So Sicheng decides, as this is his first day as a human, he would truly enjoy the experience. He roams around the city, actually buying some clothes for him, just because his clothes are mostly white, and he wants to change his vibes. After shopping for some clothes, he strolls around some more, sitting in a park where he pats a good boy (read: puppies) who walks in front of him, and the last thing he did was actually hanging out in a cafe. It’s a pretty comfortable one too. He decides he would just order some coffees and probably a meal too.

The cafe was located near the beach, so he sits near the window, and starts looking at the sea. The sea was always where he got to do his job, and he actually found  _ the one  _ from the sea too. Sea holds every memory he had, both the good one and the bad one. He just finds it so interesting. 

After some time, he decides, instead of going to the harbour right away, he would visit the beach first while waiting for Jungwoo. So he heads up to the beach and just enjoys watching how the waves break, and so on. The sea somehow pulls him to get closer. So he did. Just being at the beach actually soothes him up. Not to mention, he’s actually pretty tired just because he woke up super early today, and he’s been going around the city to see what’s up there. He lay down on the sand, and closed his eyes for a while. And suddenly, he hears a calming music that lulls him to sleep. Sicheng falling asleep.

And what he didn’t realize is, he’s being dragged by the wave, which makes him drown to the sea, and never coming back to the land.

* * *

The first thing Sicheng notices when he’s awake is, he’s not on the beach anymore. He’s laying in a pretty huge comfortable bed. He’s trying to remember what happened to him, but he only remembers he’s waiting for Jungwoo on the beach. And speaking of Jungwoo, he should meet him fast, it’s not good to let someone wait for you for too long. Sicheng was about to wake up from the bed, when someone’s voice made him startled.

“Sir, with all my respect, please stay still there.” 

Sicheng looked at the source of the voice and saw someone standing near the door. He looks harmless, even though he carries what Sicheng notices is a trisula. Trisula. This didn’t make any sense. Is he in the ocean? He’s a human now, so by now, he should’ve gone out of oxygen and died. 

“Where am I? And why am I here?” Sicheng asks.

“You’re in the Kingdom of Otherworld, sir. And for the last question, I believe it’s not my place to answer.” That guy answers quickly. “Let me call the King for now. Just rest a bit more, sir.”

By that, that guy went out of the room, leaving Sicheng alone, feeling super confused. The Kingdom of Otherworld? It must have something to do with Jaehyun, the God of the Sea. This isn’t good. Why would his nemesis bring him here, and even let him still live despite him being a mere human now? And what is Jungwoo doing now? Will he be worried about Sicheng or will he just continue his voyage without him? Once again, this can’t be good.

As like a cue, the one Sicheng mentioned suddenly shows up, with his royal blue suit, and his iconic sword and of course a little smile on his face.

“Hello, former co-worker. I want to say nice to see you here, but I guess it’s not that proper given the situation.” Jaehyun starts to talk, walking towards the chair near Sicheng’s bed. 

“And oh, you could leave, but please close the door. Thank you.” Jaehyun ushering his soldier to go, and nods satisfiedly when they finally out of his sight.

“Jung Jaehyun, why am I here?” Sicheng wastes no time and starts to question Jaehyun.

“Oh? Is it rude to call me by name? As you’re just a human now?” Jaehyun asks with his annoying smirks. “But well, as you’re my former co-worker, I’ll let it slide once.” 

Sicheng rolls his eyes, fighting an urge to just punch his beautiful face, “Anyway, yes I could explain why you are here. First of all, I guess you could start by thanking me. Since I basically save you and let you live. You know in one snap I could make you feel out of breath right? We’re in the water after all.”

“Quit beating around the bush Jaehyun, just tell me the truth.” Sicheng sighs.

“Okay okay, this is gonna be a hurtful truth though, I’ve warned you already.” Jaehyun points at Sicheng’s face. “Now, let’s start. Of course it started after you gave up your mortality just to be human. The Lord calls your family, and immediately points Renjun, your cousin, to replace you at work. Of course Renjun said okay right away. But your family is still mad at you for just carelessly giving up your mortality for just a mere human. They asked the Lord if he could do something to punish you. Couple other Gods also listen to this and they get mad too. They said you could set a trend to other Gods and they could just carelessly leave all their responsibilities behind. You could just say you commit quite huge sins here.”

Jaehyun stops to checks on Sicheng’s reaction, but Sicheng didn’t show any reaction at all, so he just continues again, “The Lord called me, knowing you’re probably would hang out around the sea again, he told me to just punish you by playing my instruments, lulls you to sleep, and drowns you. But as I said before, you’re my former co-worker, I don’t want to just kill you like that, I guess it’ll be interesting to just let you live here for a while, let you reflect on your behaviour, and maybe the Lord could give you mortality and your God title again.”

“So you asked them to spare my life?” Sicheng breaks the silence. 

“More or less.” Jaehyun just shrugs.

Sicheng starts to laugh. But no, not that happy laugh, more like a pathetic laugh. He keeps on laughing making Jaehyun look so confused. Not long after that, Sicheng starts to cry. Jaehyun who saw it immediately panicked and didn’t know what to do.

“Hey, are you okay?” Jaehyun tries to touch Sicheng on his shoulder, but Sicheng immediately slaps his hand away.

“You feel great about doing a charity for me huh?” Sicheng starts, body still shaking from the tears. “Why won’t you just freaking kill me Jaehyun? Why? I know you hate me, and here’s the chance, why won’t you just fucking kills me? Would that be easier for you? Would that make you feel happier?”

“What do you mean? I know you deserve some more chances, and as I said before, we’re a former co-worker! Of course I would save you.” Jaehyun tries to reason, but apparently that didn’t make Sicheng feel better.

“No Jaehyun, we’re not a former co-worker, it’s more like I work from above and you work from below, and you definitely didn’t make any of my work easier nor didn’t I make your work easier. And why won’t you just freaking end my misery? You torturing me now, did I even beg for a chance? No.” Sicheng seems so mad, even Jaehyun didn’t know what to do.

“But I saved you Sicheng. Do you think I want to just let you die like that? Just because I make you drowning? Your whole life, you’ve been saving people from drowning, won’t it be so sad you died because of the same reason? I genuinely thought you deserve to live more. Won’t you thank me for that reason?” Jaehyun now seated on the bed, looking directly at Sicheng. 

“This whole conversation, and you still want me to thank you. Because of you, I have to live my useless life, I don’t even need to prove anything here. I genuinely want to step down from being a God. I just want to live happily with my love, who now I can’t even meet again. And also, my family can’t even be happy for me, instead of asking me to be punished. Do you think I want to live if things go this way? And now I even have to be stuck with you here? What for Jaehyun? You’ll only make my life more miserable, and I would also just be a parasite for you. Just kill me.”

“No.” Jaehyun stands up from the bed.

“What? This isn’t a yes or no question Jaehyun. It’s an order.” 

“And once again, who are you? A mere human? Ordering a God? Not to mention the king of this kingdom too? Funny.” Jaehyun laughs. “Anyway, it’s been a long day for you. You should rest.”

With that, Jaehyun went out of the room and left Sicheng alone again. Today is indeed a long day, and he feels so tired, both mentally and physically. Decided to listen to Jaehyun’s words, Sicheng takes some more rest, in hope at least his physic isn’t this tired anymore later.

* * *

The next day, Sicheng got woken up by someone knocking on the door. It was someone who’s staying in his room before he woke up yesterday, but this time he didn’t bring his trisula with him. 

“Good morning, sir. I’m so sorry I woke you up like this. But King Jaehyun wants to meet you downstairs for breakfast.” He bows a little at Sicheng.

“Why does he think I want to grab breakfast with him?” Sicheng chuckles, shaking his head, ready to go back to dreamland.

“With all my respect sir, the King might seem a little bit intimidating or even scary or annoying sometimes, but I promise you he’s actually a really good guy.”

Sicheng stands from the bed and looks at the guard interestingly, “Wow, it’s cool for you to stand up for your boss like that, even with the slander included.”

The guard suddenly lowers his head, embarrassed about something he just said, “But okay, if you say so, I’ll grab breakfast with him. And by the way, what’s your name?”

“It’s Lee Mark, sir.” He once again bows at Sicheng.

“Please, no need to be formal, I’m now a human anyway.” Sicheng shrugs. “Please lead the way.”

Mark wastes no time, and immediately leads Sicheng outside. Sicheng never really saw the kingdom as he’s brought in when he passed out, so seeing it is pretty interesting, he must say. The kingdom itself is pretty big, there’s a huge lawn outside, and also, Sicheng could see the protection seal dome outside the kingdom. There’s a huge door on the corridor, probably just a bedroom or guest room, or just a regular entertainment room? Sicheng didn’t bother to ask.

Mark leads them downstairs, revealing a huge door, with a silver accent on it. Mark opens it and it reveals a super big dining hall, with Jaehyun seated on the other side of the table. Upon seeing Sicheng, Jaehyun immediately stands from his seat and welcomes him.

“Oh good morning sunshine! Welcome welcome, please sit here.” He motions his staff to help Sicheng sit.

Sicheng mumbles a thank you and sits next to Jaehyun.

“I should say I’m surprised you even agreed for my breakfast invitation.” Jaehyun starts, letting his chefs dine all the dishes.

“I was about to sleep again, but I have to say Mark did an amazing job convincing me, I like that guy.” Sicheng smiles at Mark who is currently looking at them, he quickly tries to divert his eyes somewhere.

“Ah, he’s my best man indeed.” Jaehyun nods. “Anyway, you’re sure that’s the only reason? I’m pretty sure you’re mad at me yesterday, and I thought you wont even respond to me, but here we are.”

“You prefer me locking myself in the room you gave me and ignore you forever?” Sicheng now staring at Jaehyun.

“Nah, it’s just, you’re pretty interesting I guess.” 

“Thanks, I’ll take the compliment. And anyway, even if I avoid you today, I still have to actually meet and interact with you someday, and I guess, the sooner the better. But don’t forget that you’re still my nemesis, at least I still assume you so.” 

“Well, that’s fine. And are you ready for our activity today?”

“What? We have activity today? And I thought this is the only time I have to be with you.” Sicheng sighs deeply, drawing a laugh from Jaehyun.

“I know you hate me, but I don’t hate you. And also, don’t forget you’re here to prove yourself, so yeah of course you’ll have to do things with me.” Jaehyun finishes his meal, and stands up from his seat. “Anyway, I’ll see you in an hour, Mark will lead you back to your room again. He sets a bath for you already too.”

With that Jaehyun exits the room while all his staffs bow at him, leaving Sicheng alone sitting there, with tons of food still laying in front of him. As if on cue, Mark immediately went to Sicheng’s side.

“Sir, did you finish your food already?” 

“Hmm, no. Please have a seat. Have you eaten yet? Please eat with me if you haven’t.” Sicheng pushes a plate to Mark, motioning him to join.

“Thank you sir, but I’ve eaten already. Don’t worry, just take your time. The food will be brought to others too, so it won’t be wasted too either, so no worries.” Mark smiles. And he then starts rambling, “Let me know when you’re finished. I set the bath for you already, and I actually prepared the clothes already, but I don’t know if you like it, so you could check the others we have in the closet.”

Sicheng seems amused, Mark is indeed cute, he could get why he’s Jaehyun’s best man. 

After Sicheng feels full, he tells Mark he’s finished. And as expected, Mark immediately leads him back to the bedroom. He didn’t even realize that there’s a huge bathroom inside. The bathroom is comfortable, and there’s a huge bathtub there. And of course, as Mark and Jaehyun said earlier, he sets the bathroom already. It smells like a fresh lemon when he comes in.

“Please do enjoy your bath. I know King Jaehyun told you to meet him in an hour, but he obviously would wait for you, so no need to rush. I put the clothes on your bed already, but if you didn’t like it, there’s a door next to this bathroom, and there’s the closet. We have many options there, so please wear what you feel comfortable in. If you need any of my help, just call me, I’ll be outside of your room.” Mark bows and quickly leaves.

“Wait, Mark?” Sicheng called.

“Yes sir?”

“Thank you.”

Sicheng could see a little blush from Mark’s cheeks, “Ah this is nothing. No need to thank me. Enjoy your bath, sir.”

Sicheng once again left alone. He sighs, thinking what has happened to him these 2 days. He could feel today would be a pretty chaotic day too, not to mention he has to spend his days with his nemesis, until he doesn't know when. He just wants to stay with the love of his life, and this is where he ended up. But thinking about it again, Sicheng actually isn’t sure where his hatred for Jaehyun started. 

They actually rarely meet each other unless there’s a monthly meeting with the Lord and Gods also Goddess. He only stuck up thinking it was Jaehyun doing every time storms happened, and of course it makes his job much more difficult. And also the fact that Sicheng has to clean up his mess on the sea, yeah it was pretty annoying. 

As a former God of Love and Beauty, having to work helping humans, especially sailors in the sea actually seems weird for Sicheng. He thought he would have to play cupid, but it’s not the case. He just has to help humans, and brag about his beauty, and make humans fall in love with him. It’s not a rare occasion for Sicheng. 

Thinking about the tiny reasons why Sicheng hates Jaehyun, he thinks it’s not truly necessary. Jaehyun is actually being decent with him too, aside from not just killing him right away. But well maybe, after this, Sicheng could just ask Jaehyun to start from zero again and actually get to know him. He has to spend his days with him anyway. Sicheng is not sure and sceptical about the Lord and his family giving him another chance and he needs to prove himself. Like what is he trying to prove? That he deserves to earn his God title again? Sicheng didn’t really want that. Just to prove them Sicheng deserves to live more? Maybe. 

Sicheng can’t help but think, how is Jungwoo now? Does he feel as miserable as Sicheng? Will Jungwoo remember him and just quickly moved on? He just wants to know everything. And after trying to clear his mind, Sicheng finally got up from the bathtub and got ready for the day. He takes a look at the clothes Mark has prepared for him, and it's actually not bad, not too casual, and not too formal, it also feels comfortable, so Sicheng opted to use that one. But out of curiosity, he looks at the door next to the bathroom, there’s indeed a huge closet with tons of clothes options there. Maybe tomorrow he would choose his clothes on his own, but today he’s content with Mark’s pick. 

Sicheng went out of his room and found Mark indeed waiting for him there. 

“Oh, hello sir. How do you like the clothes?” Mark starts.

“It fits me well and it’s pretty comfortable. Thank you Mark.” Sicheng smiles, showing up the clothes to Mark. “Now, please lead the way.”

“Ah right. King Jaehyun has been waiting for you in the throne room.” Mark leads the way. 

Sicheng knows Jaehyun indeed the God of Sea and also the King and ruler of Underworld, but knowing his castle is this huge and also he’s having his own throne room, Sicheng sure Jaehyun is indeed a real big deal here.

Arriving at the throne room, the word huge is probably an understatement. This is just so beautiful. The throne room is decorated with tons of blue and silver colours everywhere. It somehow fits Jaehyun perfectly in Sicheng's opinion. And he finally spotted Jaehyun sitting in the corner of his huge table, lookin at some documents laying in front of him. At that point, Sicheng could definitely see the king side of Jaehyun, and it’s pretty interesting.

“Sir, I’m so sorry to bother you, but Sir Sicheng is here already.” Mark announces their arrival.

“Oh?” Jaehyun looks up, smiling at them both. “Nice job Mark. Would you please help me prepare Aonbharr for me?”

“Sure sir.”

“Aonbharr?” Sicheng asks when Mark is gone.

“My horse. We’re going sightseeing today. I just want you to meet my citizens, and also I just want you to get familiar with my kingdom here. Sounds great?”

Sicheng wants to ask why he would need to get familiar with Jaehyun's kingdom but he just nods along. Jaehyun still looks pretty busy, reading yet another document in front of him.

“You look busy though? Are you sure you have time to just bring me around your kingdom?” Sicheng asks, taking a seat in front of Jaehyun.

“I could handle this tomorrow. And for now, let me show you around!”

With that, Jaehyun takes Sicheng’s hand and leads the way. They went downstairs, and Sicheng could finally see Jaehyun’s mighty horse with his own eyes. After Jaehyun lets Sicheng pet him, they finally start their journey.

“So, why would you want to show me around? I don’t think I would stay here for long though.” Sicheng shrugs, looking outside from the chariot’s window.

“But well, you should still have to look around. Just in case, I’m not around, you would understand this kingdom, and probably could replace me.” Jaehyun says nonchalantly.

“Wait what? Are you dying or something?” Sicheng looks at Jaehyun immediately, and examines him.

Jaehyun chuckles, and lets go of his hand from Sicheng’s hold, “Don’t worry too much about me, pretty boy. I’m not dying. I just say this, just in case.” 

Sicheng sighs, mumbling, “Ah you worried me for a second.”

“Are you worried about me?” Jaehyun, of course, heard that. He then continued to tease Sicheng, “I thought you hated me, why did you worry about me? You’re falling for my charms, aren’t you? Ah, and I thought you’re the one who has charms to make everyone fall in love with you.”

“Just shut up before I literally kill you.” Sicheng shoves Jaehyun away from him, drawing a laugh from Jaehyun. Indeed, even though Sicheng already has a plan to just start from zero with Jaehyun, he’s annoying. 

“But I thought your power is to heal someone, not to kill someone.” Jaehyun pouts. “Softie.”

“I swear to God, Jung Jaehyun, just shut up.” 

Jaehyun keeps laughing while Sicheng gets annoyed. Sicheng decides he should just look around from the window, and admire the view. He should be honest that Jaehyun’s kingdom is indeed so beautiful. He could see his people getting along well with each other. The city itself also built beautifully. It’s such a pleasant view for Sicheng, considering what he’s been seeing while he works is just a ship or boat getting wrecked by the wave.

“Anyway, before you annoy the shit out of me again, I just want to clear this. I want to start from zero with you. Like hearing how little birds talk about you, and also being here with you, makes me realize that I actually barely know nothing about you. So yeah, I guess since I’ll be here and will spend my time with you, it would be better if we started all this from zero.”

“Aw, you’re cute. Sure sure. I honestly want to know you better too.” Jaehyun grins. “How did you enjoy my kingdom anyway?”

“It’s pretty. And well, it seems comfortable to live in.” 

“I’m glad then. Tomorrow I’ll have to go somewhere. Do you want to join me?” 

Sicheng was about to say no, but Jaehyun cuts him to it, “I suppose you want to join me too. I’m sure that’s better than having to get stuck in your room alone right? We’ll depart at 10am then.

Sicheng wants to protest, but suddenly Mark from outside announces, “We’re arrived.”

With that the door is opened, and Jaehyun offers his hand so Sicheng could get down safely, “So I’ll see ya tomorrow?”

“It’s not like I could run away anywhere.” 

Once again, Jaehyun laughs. Sicheng won’t lie, it’s a beautiful sound for him.

“You’re right. Anyway, do enjoy your stay here. You could always ask Mark if you want to do anything.” Jaehyun pets Aonbhaar, then he goes back inside. Leaving Sicheng with Mark.

“So, sir, do you want to go somewhere first or just straight to your room?” Mark suddenly showed up beside him.

“Would you mind showing me around the castle?”

With that Mark acts like a tourist guide for Sicheng. He announces every room they passed by, and he even brings him from the basement, until the 3rd floor. It was so huge, and on the first floor, there’s a huge garden. 

“Why is there a garden here?” Sicheng asks, while requesting Mark he wants to go there again.

“Hm, I’m supposed the king loves to see flowers and plants? I saw him a couple times here on an ungodly hour. There’s a pretty big lawn there too, it was for the king when he’s getting ready to fight and learn some tricks to self defence. He’s a great fighter afterall.” Mark explains, letting Sicheng sit on the bench, facing a huge tree there.

“Wait, Jaehyun is still fighting and has a war sometimes down here?” Sicheng turns to Mark.

“Hmm, I thought you knew already. But yeah. There’s some rebels sometimes, and you know, shits between kingdoms, I’m not so sure either.” Mark freely explains, and then he only notices he did curse. His eyes went wide. And he immediately apologizes to Sicheng.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry sir. I can’t keep my mouth from cursing like that. I swear that would be the last time. I’m so sorry.” He keeps on bowing.

Sicheng chuckles, then grabs Mark’s hand and motions him to sit next to him, “Hey, I’m not like Jaehyun, you know? You should know that I’m actually just a mere-human now, no need to be so formal with me. What about you dropping the formalities with me? Just call me Sicheng?” 

“Sicheng?” Mark tries.

“Yes, like that! It’s better. And you don’t have to be sorry for cursing like that.” Sicheng pats Mark’s shoulder. “Okay then, please continue.”

“So yeah, sometimes the king would go to war, of course with our trusty strong soldiers, they’re a pretty great troop, you know? King Jaehyun was doing so well as their leader, and as I said before, they were all pretty well trained. And did I tell you before? We have a little hospital in the next building. We have our own doctors and nurses, to help our soldiers who got hurt during fights to heal. I know that you used to help heal people, so I’m wondering if you’re interested in checking on that?”

“Yeah sure, I would like to see it. But for now, can we just stay here and talk some more? Can you tell me more about Jaehyun?”

So Mark did. He tells Sicheng about how he met Jaehyun, and how he ended up getting recruited as a kingdom staff. He also explains how Jaehyun basically raised him. He talks so highly about Jaehyun. Mark said, even though Jaehyun looks tough on the outside, he’s actually pretty soft on the inside. Jaehyun was there everytime Mark faced some difficulties, and helped him get through all that. All that makes Sicheng really curious about Jaehyun.

“This is probably so random but, did he ever talk about me? I’m wondering how I ended up here, of all places. I know he basically brought me because he saved me from his own curses. But why him?” Sicheng wonders.

“Hmm, actually, not really? Not that I know of. He probably just mumbles sometimes about  _ ‘great, now I’m making the God of Love and Beauty hates me even more’  _ and I don’t know the context.” Mark replies. “And well, he probably feels like he’s acquainted to you, hence he did all this? I honestly don’t know what’s going on in the king’s mind.” 

With that, Mark finally insists on walking Sicheng back to his room, since it’s almost dinner time already. Mark promises to knock on his door once the dinner’s ready. He also insists for Sicheng to get some rest first before dinner. 

And now Sicheng is left alone in his room. He just lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling. He can’t help but to wonder everything that happened to him when he’s left alone. He feels pretty lonely. Usually he would have his 3 birds around him, but now he’s truly alone. Not to mention he’s now staying in somewhere he’s not familiar with. Beside Mark’s being nice to him, and also Jaehyun being a pretty good host for him, this all still feels too foreign. Sicheng just closed his eyes in hope this bad thought could just leave him in peace. Not realizing how tired he actually is, he falls asleep.

Sicheng woke up by the sounds of knock on his door. When the door is opened, it reveals Mark, obviously. Sicheng notices Mark is kind of tip-toeing to walk towards him, probably because of his lights still off too.

“Sicheng, are you awake?” Mark whispers.

Sicheng humms, making sure Mark hears that. He could hear Mark sigh pretty loudly before turning on his lights. 

“I’m so sorry, if I disturb you resting. But, here’s your dinner for tonight. Usually the king will have dinner in the dining room, but tonight, he said he has some things to do, so he asked me to send this room service style to you.” Mark starts to explain, letting some other staff to set the portable table on Sicheng’s bed and dine the food for the night.

“Did you eat dinner yet?” Sicheng asks, looking at the way Mark keeps opening the door, revealing more foods coming his way. “I don’t think I could finish all this.”

“I ate already, no worries. And also, you don’t have to finish all those. Just pick what you want to eat, the king still doesn't know what you like, so he told us to just prepare everything and lets you choose.”

“Is he really busy now? Jaehyun?”

“I guess so. But no need to worry, he already eats dinner too!” Mark finally closes the door once the last staff finishes putting down the last dish. “Anyway, I’ll set you a bath, okay?”

Sicheng just nods. Staring at the food, and finally settling to just eat the seafood. He quickly finishes his dish before Mark even finishes setting up his bath. Sicheng made his way to the bathroom, seeing Mark still pouring some soaps, and essential oils, looking like he’s brewing a potion to Sicheng’s bathtub. 

“Why did you pour so much?”

That makes Mark startled, “Oh my God, you scared me. And well, you deserve the best, this is what I usually set up in the king’s bath, so I hope you enjoyed all this too.” 

Mark finally finished, so he let Sicheng take a bath, “And oh, do you want me to pick you the clothes, or do you want to pick it by yourself?”

“Can you pick it up for me please? And can I get a warm one?” Sicheng requests.

Mark only nods, “Sure sure. Enjoy your bath Sicheng.”

Before Mark leaves, Sicheng asks again, “By the way Mark, can I just walk around the castle by my own?”

“I don’t see any reason you can’t, so of course yes. But please be careful, not that anyone could hurt you here though. It’s just… You know where to find me if you need something right?”

“Right.” Sicheng firmly nods. “Thank you Mark.”

“It’s a pleasure to help you. I’ll get going.” Mark closes the bathroom behind him. 

Sicheng finally took off his clothes, and enjoyed the bath. It's warm water, it makes all his muscles feel much more relaxed. And the comforting fragrance makes him like it even more. Sicheng took his time taking a bath, and as expected when he comes out, there’s a pair of clothes Mark picked for him on the bed.

It’s a pretty simple yet comfortable one again. Mark picks him a fluffy sweater as he requests too. Sicheng plans to just walk around the building, as the nights are actually still long, plus he’s already taken a quick power nap before dinner. Might as well burn the extra calories from the food he just ate. 

Sicheng starts to wander around, looking at the huge doors in front of him, a long corridor and also a giant staircase. He never really lived in a huge house like this, so this is definitely new. He thought he could even actually work out by just walking around since it’s that big. Sicheng doesn't really know where to go, but apparently his foot directs him to the garden. 

As expected, the garden’s view at night is quite different, but still pretty nevertheless. Sicheng is walking towards the bench when he notices, there’s someone on the lawn, practicing his swords skill. Sicheng realizes it’s Jaehyun.

Not wanting to get stabbed by accident, he clears his throat, making Jaehyun look at him confusedly. Jaehyun is sweating, his arms are full of white bandage with some blood stains there. It seems like he’s been here for awhile.

“Sicheng, what are you doing here?” Jaehyun walks towards him.

“Searching for some fresh air. And how about you? What are you doing here? And why did you ditch me on dinner?” Sicheng’s tone is accusing, but well, that’s indeed the truth.

“I thought Mark accompanied you though? He did tell you my reason right?” Jaehyun now leads Sicheng to take a seat on the bench.

“Yes, but still.” 

“Are you sulking?” Jaehyun stares at him. He then took a towel to wipe off his sweats. If you ask Sicheng, it’s kind of hot, but of course he won’t say that out loud.

Sicheng just rolls his eyes, “And how did you manage to hurt yourself practicing? I thought you’re a good fighter.” Sicheng takes Jaehyun’s hand and inspects it.

“Can you heal this for me though?” 

“I can’t. You can’t forget that I’m just a human now. But guess, I’ll ask Mark to bring me to that little hospital of yours and learn how to heal your wounds.” Sicheng lets go of Jaehyun’s hand.

“Great. And while you’re here, why don’t you try practicing with swords?” Jaehyun offers Sicheng his sword. 

“So, you’re refusing to talk to me the reason why you’re here late at night, practicing with your sword, with wounds all over your hand, and just offer me to do that too?” Sicheng sighs.

“Yes.” Jaehyun smiles, dimples full on display. Oh to think that he used to be the God of Love and Beauty. This man right in front of him probably deserves the title more than him.

Jaehyun takes Sicheng’s hand and brings them to the lawn again. Jaehyun then truly teaches Sicheng how to use a sword, from how to attack, until how to defend yourself with it. Sicheng understands the gist of it, but he’s no way near Jaehyun’s skills for that. The sword itself is so heavy, not to mention he’s successfully hurt his hand on the learning process. But well, it is what it is. And he’s finally given up.

“Jaehyun, thanks for the lessons, but I think that’s it for today. I’m too tired.” 

“Oh okay. Let’s rest here.” Jaehyun grabs Sicheng’s hand and pulls it downwards, urges him to sit next to him.

“So, you still won’t let me know why you are practicing here, alone, in the middle of the night?” Sicheng asks again, trying his luck.

“Oh don’t be too dramatic, it’s not the middle of the night. And I’m not alone, I have you here with me.” Jaehyun just shrugs.

“Come on Jaehyun. You know you could tell me anything right?” 

“Yeah, I know. For now, I just want to let you know that we’re going somewhere again tomorrow. So, please get ready at 11am!” 

“Okay. Is this related to your works?” 

“Kind of?” Jaehyun just answers vaguely. “For now, what I can tell you about my works is, just to keep the peace all over the underworld here, or for what humans are usually called, under the sea. You could say I’m the central kingdom here, but we do have little kingdoms out there too.”

“And what about storms? Or big waves? Or the whirlpool? Bermuda triangle? Is that what you're doing too?” Sicheng is really genuinely curious, so far he’s just assuming that’s all Jaehyun’s doing.

“What? Of course no. We have another department that controls all nature issues related to the ocean, so definitely not me.” Jaehyun wheezes when hearing Sicheng’s question.

“It’s really not your doing? I thought it was you. Hence I got annoyed by you. Because of those things, so many sailors drowned you know.” 

“I never said I did.” Jaehyun defenses himself.

“I know. I’m just assuming.” Sicheng chuckles.

“Anyway, I know you’re tired. Let me walk you to your room?” Jaehyun offers, extending his hand for Sicheng to hold.

“Why does everyone keep assuming I’m tired? I rest well enough.” Sicheng just shakes his hand, but eventually holds Jaehyun’s hand.

“Well, it’s resting time already young man.” 

“But I still want to do more.” Sicheng whines.

“Let’s talk in your room, okay?” 

Sicheng just nods, and lets Jaehyun hold his hand while walking to his room. Jaehyun’s hand is big, and warm. It fits him perfectly well. One day, Sicheng would intertwine their hands together, but not now. Now, he’s still perfectly content with Jaehyun beside him. 

When they finally arrived at Sicheng’s room, they both sat on the bed.

“So, what else do you want to ask me?” Jaehyun initiates the conversations.

“Hmm, about me here. You said the Lord was going to give me my God title back when I proved myself here, right?” Sicheng finally asked what’s been on his mind lately.

“Keyword on might. The Lord might make you a God again, but I can’t assure it.” Jaehyun does emphasize on the word  _ might _ .

“Okay then. And you said I have to prove myself here. And by doing what?”

“Helping me around with the kingdoms maybe?” Jaehyun actually sounds unsure.

“Why do you sound so unsure about that? What’s with the question mark behind your words?” Sicheng pouts. “Seriously, for what and why?”

“Hey, to tell you the truth. It’s just me, okay? It’s just me who wants to save you. When the Lord told me to help with what your family wants, kills you basically, I thought to myself that this can’t happen. I can’t kill my coworker, right?” Jaehyun tries to explain, but somehow it sounds more like he’s defending himself for whatever reason.

“Wait, once again, we’re not coworker Jaehyun, dear lord.” Sicheng face-palms himself.

“Hey! I’m not done yet.” Jaehyun sighs. “Anyway, I told the Lord about wanting to save you, and he said I could do whatever I want. So please, help me.”

“I never ruled a kingdom before, Jaehyun. I don’t know why you want me to help you, and you sound pretty suspicious just now.” 

“I swear, I already calculated all this, and I really need your help, and for now, the only help I need from you is just for you to stay here with me.” 

“Okay. But you never told me why you helped me though? You keep saying something along the line  _ ‘we’re former coworker’  _ shit, and I don’t believe you in that. Shows me your true self, Jung Jaehyun.” Sicheng points at Jaehyun’s face.

Jaehyun just shakes his head, grabs Sicheng’s finger, and keeps it away from his face, “And let just say that’s a secret.”

“Anyway, I should go back to my room now. Rest well Sicheng, good night.” Sicheng swears he could see a tint of red from Jaehyun’s cheeks. Is he blushing? Why?

“Wait, why are you running away? We’re not done yet.” 

Jaehyun ignores that, and bids his goodbye, “See you tomorrow, Sicheng.” And of course with that, he’s gone from Sicheng’s room.

Rather than feeding his curiosity, his whole conversation with Jaehyun makes him curious even more. What is Jaehyun’s true reason for saving Sicheng? And what will happen after all this? What kind of help does Jaehyun need from him? Some new questions popped into his mind, but he couldn’t care less about that for tonight. He promised himself he won’t overthink again. So once again, he took a deep breath, and slowly went to sleep, despite saying he rested enough.

But well, sleep fixed all your problems right?   
  


* * *

Sicheng woke up before Mark woke him up the next day. Mark looks pretty shocked to see Sicheng already woke up and his bed already tidy. Nevertheless, Mark greets him brightly.   


“Hello Sicheng! Good sleep?” Mark walks towards him. “King Jaehyun asks me to set you a bath first before breakfast, he’s planning to go with you right after breakfast, would you mind?”

“Yeah, it’s a pretty good sleep. Of course, I don’t mind. It’s not like he would cancel or postpone our departure if I did mind.” Sicheng just shrugs, tailing Mark to the bathroom.

“Oh, trust me, he would.” Mark once again brews the  _ potion  _ for his bath, it’s still pretty fascinating to see. “Anyway, do you think this is too hot? Or still too cold?”

Sicheng dips his hand to the bathtub, and it feels perfect, “No, this is perfect.”

“Wait.” Mark suddenly takes Sicheng’s hand. “How did you hurt your hand? Because I swear to God, your hand was fine the last time I’m here. Oh gosh, King Jaehyun would kill me.”

“Mark, relax. I hurt it while I’m practicing sword with him last night, so no worries. He knew about this already. Anyway, it’s on me though, why would Jaehyun kill you?” Sicheng just dropped the topic there. “And also, can I pick my own clothes for today while I wait for you?”

“Sure, sure.” 

Sicheng then went to the room next door. He inspects all clothes that’s hanging in that room, it all looks so pretty, and probably expensive. It’s quite fashionable too, but still simple, not too much. If this is all Jaehyun’s clothes, he definitely has some taste. The clothes actually were divided by colours. Sicheng went around, and when he’s in the blue section, he got interested in one shirt. It’s actually simple, but it has a silver accent in it, reminds him of the first time he saw Jaehyun in the blue and silver suits, so he takes it. And for the pants, he won’t think too much, so he just picks simple jeans to go with it. And maybe he’ll take a pretty shiny silver jacket too, since it's been pretty cold recently.

Mark suddenly showed up and told him the bath is ready. So he went straight to the bathroom. Ever since Sicheng arrived here, he always enjoys his bath time. Not only Mark is great at choosing which soaps plus which essential oils to choose, it’s just the vibe of the bathroom is pretty comfortable too. 

But today he won't take too long, since he thought Jaehyun has so many things to do today, he doesn't want him to wait. Since when did Sicheng care about Jaehyun, you ask? He didn’t know it either. Ever since he actually learned more about Jaehyun, he’s actually a caring, sweet, and amazing person, even though once again, Sicheng won’t lie he’s indeed sometimes annoying. Sicheng always believes in  _ nobody perfect _ , but in Sicheng’s dictionary, Jaehyun is almost perfect.

Once he dressed up, Mark, today too, led him to the dining room. And Jaehyun is obviously there already. Sicheng swears, Jaehyun’s face kind of lights up when he sees him.

“Morning Sicheng!”

“Morning Jaehyun.” Sicheng sits on the chair next to Jaehyun. “Woke up on the good side of the bed?”

“You could just say so.” Jaehyun smiles. “Today, I’m going to visit another kingdom, but when I meet the king, I just want you to wait outside, okay? With Mark? And after that, we could go anywhere you want. Deal?”

“Why would you need me to come along though?” Sicheng frowns, not believing he would just wait outside. 

“For mental and emotional support.” Jaehyun mumbles.

Sicheng definitely did not hear that, “Sorry?”

“Forget it! Just assume it was for some reason.” Jaehyun immediately stands from his chair. “I have to prepare Aonbharr. Just come when you finish your breakfast, okay?”

“Wait, you ate already?”

Jaehyun just hums, and leaves the room.

Sicheng shakes his head, and turns to Mark, “Did he seriously already have breakfast?”

“I want to say yes, but you know, I’ve been outside your room, so I don’t know.” Mark giggles.

“You’re right.” Sicheng sighs.

Sicheng then eats his breakfast, and once he’s full, he walks with Mark again. This time, since he felt close with Mark already, he took his hand, and held it.

“Umm, Sicheng?” Mark points out at their hands. “Is this okay?”

“Yes! Did you feel uncomfortable? I just want us to be close friends you know. It’s fine, right?” Sicheng swings their hands together, making Mark laugh.

“I suppose so.” Mark only grins. 

“And Mark, do you know what Jaehyun will do? Why would he need me there? And why is this weird? And also why would he need to practice on his sword skill last night? Would he need to fight someone today?” Sicheng gives Mark tons of questions.

“Wow wow, you ask too many questions there sir, one at a time please.” Mark just laughs. “And for the answers, first, I don’t know what he will do and why would he need you there. Maybe personal reasons? And also, the king indeed practices on his sword daily or weekly, so it’s totally normal. And no, he won’t fight anyone today. He would bring a whole troop if he would fight someone.” Mark answers that nicely one by one.

“He’s being lowkey suspicious, I’m worried.” Sicheng admits.

“He’s not suspicious, I swear.” Mark now laughs. “And we’re here!”

Jaehyun definitely hears Mark’s voice and immediately commands him, “Mark, please feed Aonbharr first, and we’re ready to go.”

And he saw Mark and Sicheng join hands. He didn’t say anything, but Mark is hyper aware of that, so he slowly let go, “I get it sir.”

Jaehyun didn’t say anything to Sicheng either, and just let him hop on the chariot. They didn’t talk much on the way. Sicheng focused on admiring the view outside, it’s pretty and bright.

“Did Mark choose that clothes for you again?” Jaehyun suddenly asks.

“This? No. I choose this by myself, this reminds me of your suit.” Sicheng tidied up his clothes from the wrinkles. “Why?”

“Nothing, you look good.” Jaehyun compliments him.

“Aw, thanks.” Sicheng just shrugs, trying to hide his blushing cheeks. Don’t blame him, it’s not everyday you get complimented by a pretty boy right?

“That looks lowkey makes me want to ask you on a date.” Jaehyun mumbled something again, and Sicheng seriously didn’t get what he said.

“Can you stop mumbling? I don’t know what you are saying.” Sicheng whines.

“It’s not that important, I swear!” 

Before Sicheng could say something, Mark suddenly announced their arrival, “We’re here.”

“Okay, I need to go, you could wait here or they have a huge garden inside. You should stay with Mark, you got me? Don’t wander around alone. I’ll bring you somewhere special before we get back later.” Jaehyun pats Sicheng’s back and heads out. He seems like he’s saying something to Mark and finally went in alone.

“So, Sicheng, where do you wanna wait? Here or inside?” Mark’s head showed up.

“It’s too boring here, just lets head inside.” 

Once again Sicheng took Mark’s hand and they both walked inside. Mark explains they’re here because of Jaehyun and the staff immediately leads them to the garden as sicheng requested. Once they’re left alone, Sicheng asks Mark immediately.

“What did Jaehyun talk to you about before he went in?” 

“Hm, when?”

“When he wants to go in, he talks to you. You know what I mean.” 

“Oh, that. Nothing, just he told me to take care of you, and he’s glad that we’re close, but he said hopefully it’s not  _ that  _ close.” Mark has the audacity to smirks, making Sicheng even more confused with that statement.

“What does he mean by that? Not that close? Wait… What?” 

“Don’t think too much about it, lets just say he’s worried about you.” Mark concludes.

“But why? I’m with you? Does he think I’m in danger when I’m with you? He’s the one who told me to stick by your side.” Sicheng sighs.

“Poor Sicheng.” Mark pats his back and laughs. “Anyway, I heard they have dolphins over there, want to see?”

Sicheng nods and they both went to see the dolphins. It’s the first time Sicheng could see a dolphin that close so it’s pretty fascinating. Mark seems like he sees them often, so Mark really just plays along with them, while Sicheng still feels shy to pet them.

When Sicheng started to slowly get close to the dolphin, suddenly Jaehyun showed up.

“Sicheng, Mark? Let's go back now.”

Sicheng pouts, but after he said bye to the dolphins, he finally made his way next to Jaehyun. Jaehyun didn’t seem so happy about whatever just happened inside there. Sicheng doesn't want to push too far, but he’s there to help Jaehyun, so he finally asks.

“Did something go wrong? Are you okay?” 

“Well, yeah. Let’s just get out of here.” Jaehyun takes Sicheng's hand, and pulls him so they go faster.

They all quickly go out from there, and head somewhere Jaehyun mentioned before. On the way, Sicheng didn’t really know where they’re going, both Jaehyun and Mark, yes they asked both of them, said he should just relax. 

“Anyway Jaehyun, are you sure you’re fine? You look pretty stressed.” Sicheng stares at Jaehyun who still refuses to look back at him.

“I swear I’m fine. I just need to calm myself first.” Jaehyun talks in pout.

“Hey, you said it yourself I should help you. I’m here. So just talk to me, okay?” Sicheng forces Jaehyun to face him.

Jaehyun just sighs, “You’re too good.”

And the chariot suddenly stopped. Mark gives them a sign that they’re arrived. Jaehyun just nodded, and suddenly said, “Sicheng, this is the least I could do for you now. I believe you deserve some closure too.”

Jaehyun seems like he’s opening a portal with his sword, and from that portal Sicheng could see someone, someone that has a special space in his heart, that someone he’s supposed to spent his life with, Jungwoo.

Sicheng looks at Jaehyun in disbelief, “Jaehyun, what is this?”

“You know, sometimes I could hear you thinking and worrying about him. We’re now under his ships, so I could show you how he’s doing. Once again, this is the least I could do for you.” Jaehyun explains.

Sicheng stares at the portal, he indeed sees Jungwoo. Of course he’s still as pretty as the last time he saw him. Jungwoo seems like he’s currently working on something, he’s not alone though. One of his crew accompany him there, and of course, as a former God of Love and Beauty, Sicheng could tell that stares contain more than admiration, there’s love in it. Jungwoo looks like he’s doing well. So that’s enough for Sicheng to know. As long as Jungwoo is fine, and happy, he’s happy too. And Sicheng wanted to believe Jungwoo would find someone else soon, other than him.

Sicheng feels like he’s satisfied enough with that, he tells Jaehyun so. 

“Are you sure? You could still look longer if you want?” 

“No, I’m fine. Let’s just go back home.” 

Jaehyun seems like he wants to say something, but he decides to just keep it for himself after seeing Sicheng’s expression. The ride back home is pretty short, Mark excuses himself after bowing to Jaehyun and waving to Sicheng. And once again, Jaehyun gives him a weird look.

“Are you seriously okay? Do you want to talk about it?” Sicheng asks again.

Jaehyun finally nods, “Let’s just go to my throne room.”

Without Sicheng knowing, Jaehyun held his hand again. Indeed Jaehyun’s hand feels nice. 

When they arrived at the throne room, they both went to that huge table again, where all Jaehyun’s documents were all laid out. Jaehyun starts with the big maps on his hand, he starts to explain.

“This is how the kingdom here is all laid out. As you can see, my kingdom is right in the middle.” Jaehyun points out.

Sicheng nods, and Jaehyun continues, “This kingdom right here,” Jaehyun points out to the left bottom one, “we came here today. They sent me messages, asking about if they could get more possessions than what they have today. But of course I can’t. We have to split it all fairly. They won’t hear me via letter, so I went there by myself. And well, it didn’t go too well.”

“Seriously? And then what? Are you in danger or something?” 

“Me? I’m definitely fine, it’s just this kingdom I’m worried about. They want to come here and just declare war. Hence I need to make sure all my people are safe, and of course this kingdom also has to be safe. I’m so sorry I might not be able to accompany you for a couple days as I have to practice more along with my troops.” Jaehyun takes Sicheng’s hand and strokes it slowly.

“Let me help then! You said you needed my help!” Sicheng offers himself.

Jaehyun shakes his head, “I shouldn’t have said that. But, Sicheng, no. It’s dangerous.” 

“I’ll be fine!! I could get your best warrior to help me train!” 

“Do you even remember what happened last night when you practiced with me?” Jaehyun now definitely teases him. 

“That’s different!” Jaehyun sends him a suspicious look. “Okay okay. Last night, I didn't really have any will to do that, you know? It’s just for  _ fun _ . But I promise I’ll do much better if I have some will to do so! I want to help you.”

Jaehyun still shows a disagreement on his face.

“Okay, if you really don’t want to train me, I’ll ask Mark instead.” Sicheng says as it’s final.

“Wait, Mark?” Jaehyun seems confused.

“Well yeah. You said he’s your best person, and I’m close with him. I’m sure he wants to help me practice.” Sicheng nods, seems satisfied with his choice.

“Are you  _ that  _ close with Mark though?” Jaehyun asks.

“What do you mean with  _ that _ ? Please define it.” Sicheng frowned, he seriously didn’t get what  _ that  _ means.

Jaehyun just sighs, he obviously can’t beat around the bush with Sicheng, so he asks it, “Are you close with Mark? Like if you have a crush on him?”

“Me? Mark?” Sicheng points to himself. “Poor Jaehyun, you seem so tired already. Let’s just rest, shall we?” 

“No, no, but I’m serious.” Jaehyun tries to show his serious face, but to no avail. In Sicheng’s eyes, Jaehyun seems like he’s a puppy that just kicked out of the room.

“Jung Jaehyun. Mark is like my brother please. He’s cute and he helps me so much.” 

“You can’t get too close with him.” Jaehyun pouts now full on display.

“First off, you’re the one who keeps leaving me alone with him. Of course, I get closer with him faster. And seriously Jaehyun, I didn’t like him like  _ that _ .” Sicheng grins. “Are you jealous or something?”

“Shut up.” Jaehyun’s cheeks start to blush, and Jaehyun quickly gets up from his seat. “Anyway, I have to tell my troops about this, so I’ll get going.”

“Wait!” Sicheng pulls Jaehyun’s hand. “So, can I help you?”

Jaehyun just giggles, “I guess you could just help with the healing part? I believe our doctors would be happy to get your help. That way, you could help and I could be in peace. Okay?” 

Before he leaves the room, Jaehyun plants a kiss on Sicheng’s head, and he flees right away.

“What the fuck was that?” Sicheng mumbles to himself.

* * *

The next day, as expected, Mark was already knocking on his room. After making sure Sicheng is well bathed and well fed, Mark immediately brought him to their tiny hospital. 

Sicheng was about to hold Mark’s hand, before he said, “Ah, I’m so sorry. I guess we have to lessen our holding hands event for now.” 

Sicheng is literally confused by what that means, but he didn’t take it to his heart, so he just nods and keeps trailing behind Mark. 

Once they’re arrived, Mark introduces him to Taeyong, who apparently is their main doctor. Taeyong is not taller than Sicheng, and he also looks so beautiful and fairy like, if you asked Sicheng. Taeyong immediately welcomes him, and walks him through their tiny hospital. To say it’s tiny, that’s obviously just a lie, it’s pretty big. They have 7 floors, and their rooms for the patients are all so big too. Taeyong explains, most of the time, this hospital was just for the kingdom’s troops, but these days, per Jaehyun’s request, they opened the hospital for the public. Taeyong also explains, while the public got treated here, the kingdom’s troops have their own other buildings, so that is how it works there. Mark explains to Taeyong that Jaehyun requests for him to help Sicheng learn on how to help heal someone, and also basically, how to be a doctor. Listening to that, Taeyong only nods, while Sicheng looks shocked. He didn’t think Jaehyun would actually position him in the health division. Not to mention, he hasn’t seen Jaehyun today.

“Okay Sicheng, I’ll leave you alone with Taeyong now. Take care!” 

Mark bids his goodbye, but before he goes, Sicheng holds his hand and asks him, “Will you train today? Will you meet Jaehyun? Can you tell him to actually meet me before today ends?”

Mark looks amused, but he nods nevertheless, “Sure, I’ll talk to him. I have to go now, bye.”

After Mark left, Taeyong faces him immediately, “So shall we start?”

Taeyong teaches him to do first aid, how to cover wounds, and also how to stop someone from bleeding.  _ “That’s the basics”,  _ Taeyong said. In a whole day, Sicheng could say that he probably already masters all of those. Taeyong makes him practice from a mannequin, still not trusting him with a real person, obviously. But as per Taeyong said, Sicheng actually did great. And at the end of the day, Taeyong offers Sicheng to follow him along as he checks on his patients, which of course Sicheng accepts. He has nothing to do anyway. 

They were on their way to the last one, when someone suddenly closed Sicheng’s eyes from the back. 

“Mark, don’t joke around please.” 

Upon that, the hand lets go, and when Sicheng turns around, he’s greeted by the sight of Jaehyun pouting.

“Out of everyone? Does it really have to be Mark?” 

Sicheng laughs, and pats Jaehyun’s shoulder, “I didn’t mean to! And out of everyone, you’re the one who hasn’t showed up in my face today.” 

Taeyong, wanting to make sure they both know he’s still there, suddenly clears his throat, “King.” He then bows.

“Oh hello Taeyong. Thank you for taking care of Sicheng here.” Jaehyun smiles.

“It’s a pleasure. Sicheng has been helping a lot too, he’s definitely would make our jobs easier.” Taeyong clings to Sicheng, making Sicheng feel shy suddenly. “Anyway, I need to check on my last patient. I’ll get going first. Sicheng, I’ll see you tomorrow!”

Sicheng waves at Taeyong, and when he’s out of their sights, he looks at Jaehyun again, “What are you doing here?”

“Little birdies tell me someone wants me to meet them before today ends, so here I am now.” 

“Oh right! Let’s just get back home first. We’ll talk more after dinner! I swear if you run away from me again…” Sicheng accusely points at Jaehyun.

“Hey! I’m not running away.”

“Whatever. Let’s go.” Sicheng takes Jaehyun’s hand and brings them back to the castle. Both Sicheng and Jaehyun agree to take a bath first before dinner. Indeed Mark has set the bath for him today too, but Sicheng chose his own clothes for tonight. He opted for the baggy white shirts and just sweatpants, it’s simple and comfortable. When he finishes the bath, he walks to the dining room with Mark again. And yes, indeed, Jaehyun is already there.

“Jaehyun!” Sicheng greets him first, making Jaehyun who just read something looking at his direction.

“Hi Sicheng. Let’s eat, shall we?” 

They both eat in silence. It’s not an awkward silence though, more like just a comfortable silence between them. Sicheng loves to just focus on his food, and eats it, and Jaehyun, noticing that, decides he would respect Sicheng and just let them both be at peace.

When they finished their dinner, and after the staff had cleaned the table for them, Jaehyun asked Sicheng, “So what did you want to talk about?”

"Okay, first off! Once again, I just want to clarify, me and Mark are just strictly friends! So can you let me hold his hand again?” Sicheng starts.

“What do you mean?” Jaehyun tries to hold his expression straight, but it’s not working.

“Don’t lie! I swear Jaehyun, I never really have friends my whole life, and once I got friends you’re not happy with that?” Sicheng is now frowning.

“I could be your friend!” Jaehyun offers himself.

“Sure. But… Mark is the one who’s been on my side a lot more than you. You’re busy Jaehyun, and I understand that. So just please, let me have my friend?” 

“Okay okay. Next up?”

“I don’t think you would leave me on breakfast alone like that. And you don’t even tell me that you really give me a position on health division. I would appreciate it if you tell me beforehand, you know.”

“To be fair, I told you last night about needing you to help our doctors. So that’s that. And, I’m so sorry. I have to practice since early, so I could at least grab dinner with you.” 

Sicheng rolls his eyes, but he suddenly looks at Jaehyun seriously.

“Wait, why did you look at me like that?” Jaehyun tried to cover Sicheng’s face from his sight just because it was intimidating.

“Does this all really have to happen Jaehyun? The war?” Sicheng slowly asks.

“I’m afraid so. They won’t back down, and as I told you before, as the God of Sea and king, I have to protect the underworld and the ocean. I wish there was another way, but, well.” Jaehyun just shrugs.

“But what if you get hurt?” 

Jaehyun giggles, “Did you forget the fact that I’m a God? I’ll be fine Sicheng.”

Sicheng only pouts in response. So Jaehyun walks towards him, and makes Sicheng face him, “Hey, no need to worry about me okay? I never thought I could make you feel this worried.”

Sicheng just hits Jaehyun’s chest before burying his head there, “I don’t like to lose someone.”

Jaehyun hugs him back, and he strokes Sicheng’s back, “I swear everything will be fine.”

“Can you at least tell me when the war happened? So I could maybe help you with other things?” 

Jaehyun seems unsure at first, he eventually nods, “Okay, but in exchange of that, you should spend your night time with me before bed!”

Sicheng’s eyes went wide, “What is that supposed to mean? Dear lord, Jung Jaehyun, seriously.”

“No, no! That’s not what I mean… I mean, I just want us to talk about our day. Just because, I’ll be busy, and you are too, and as I said before, I want us to get closer too.”

“Yeah, okay sure. Starting from tonight?”

“Yes.”

They both ended up talking some more, they discussed their day, and just some little things that usually are not that important. Sicheng feels comfortable with Jaehyun already, and yes, maybe, he wishes he could get closer to him. At the end of the night, Jaehyun offers to walk Sicheng back to his room, and stays until he’s asleep. And if that night Sicheng gets a goodnight kiss from Jaehyun, only Jaehyun and the lord know.

* * *

They keep doing this routine for like 2 weeks. Every day, Mark would drop him to meet Taeyong and head to train right away. Taeyong would teach him how to handle patients, and he would introduce Sicheng to all his patients. Sicheng quickly became a favourite amongst the other doctors, nurses and even the patients. As per Taeyong said, Sicheng is pretty natural, so it’s easy to teach him. After a long day, Jaehyun would pick him up for dinner, and always walks him to his room. Spending time with Jaehyun has indeed been so amazing for Sicheng. Jaehyun would talk about his day, and so does Sicheng. Sometimes they both could even talk about their past too. They basically talk about anything. For simple, being with Jaehyun feels so natural for Sicheng. Sicheng convinces himself that he falls in love more and more to Jaehyun. This time, the feelings feel different from what he felt for Jungwoo before.

Falling for Jaehyun feels like coming home. He would feel comfortable, safe, and happy when he’s with Jaehyun. This is once again, the feeling that Sicheng never felt before. And this all actually makes him happy.

And today too, of course Mark drops him to the hospital. But the only thing different is, instead of wearing his casual clothes for practicing, this time Mark wears his armor. Well, he looks good in that, Sicheng won’t complain, but wearing it out of the blue?

“Mark, why did you wear that today?” Sicheng swings his hand with Mark’s.

Ever since their continuous routine, Jaehyun has been allowing Sicheng to do skinships with Mark again, more like just hand holding though. Jaehyun would let him hold his hand and Jaehyun would sometimes even ask Sicheng for a hug before he headed to his own bedroom. But Sicheng can’t complain and is grateful. 

“King said we should try to train with our armor today. That totally makes sense though, so far we’ve been practicing in casual clothes, which allowed us to do more movement freely. While if we wear our armor, even though we’re much more protected, it still feels a bit stiff. So, we definitely need to train while wearing this. The war is probably coming soon.” Mark just shrugs.

The word  _ “war”  _ rings in Sicheng’s head uncomfortably. He hates to see that, and he doesn't want to lose anyone. But as Jaehyun said, there’s nothing they can do about that. 

Sicheng sent Mark to train, but of course not forgetting to wish him to stay safe and take care. Mark only nods, and once again, Sicheng is standing alone in front of Taeyong’s door.

He was about to knock, when Taeyong opened his door, “Oh Sicheng! Come in, come in. Let's discuss what we have to do today!” 

And once again, Sicheng spent his day like usual. Sicheng releases an old patient who’s been doing much better than before, and welcoming some new patients. And of course, as always Jaehyun picked him up. And the thought about the war came back to Sicheng's mind. But Sicheng waits until dinner is finished before asking about that to Jaehyun.

“Jaehyun.” Sicheng, who’s currently resting his head on Jaehyun’s shoulder, calls him.

“Hmm?” Jaehyun only responded by resting his head on Sicheng’s head too.

“Will the war happen soon?”

Jaehyun immediately looks at Sicheng. And he just smiles. Taking Sicheng's hand as if he’s assuring him, “I guess so. But you seriously don’t need to worry too much. Okay?”

Sicheng hums, wanting to believe Jaehyun, and now he’s back cuddling him again.

* * *

It’s been a week since Sicheng last asked Jaehyun about the war, and Jaehyun hasn’t updated him again regarding that. But Sicheng is just going to wait until Jaehyun tells him, he already promised him anyway, and Sicheng believes him.

Today too, Mark is dressed in his full armor, and when he dropped Sicheng in the hospital, he hugged him a bit too long, which threw Sicheng off, but that’s fine since it’s Mark.

“Hey, are you okay Mark?” Sicheng asks once Mark lets go of his hug.

“Totally fine! Anyway, King Jaehyun told me to tell you, he’ll pick you up for dinner tonight, but he might be late, so that’s that!” Mark says.

“Okay! Goodluck for today too Mark! Stay safe and take care. Send my regards for Jaehyun too.” Sicheng waves at him.

Mark only nods and sprint right away. That’s a bit odd, but well, maybe he’s in a hurry.

The hospital today looks relatively empty. He greets every doctor, nurses and patients he met on the way. 

When he knocked on Taeyong’s room, no one opened the door. So he wonders, where is Taeyong? It’s unusual for him to come in late. When Sicheng was about to ask someone, suddenly Taeyong showed up in a hurry.

“Oh, there you are Sicheng. Are you ready to be super busy today?” Taeyong’s voice fills with concern.

“I am, but why are we busy?”

“You didn’t know it yet? Wait, let's just go first. We have tons of things to do today.” Taeyong drags Sicheng to the side of the hospital he never passed by. 

It was the side of the hospital who had a skybridge towards the hospital specialized for the kingdom’s soldiers. From the skybridge, Sicheng could see the sky, and he sees their protective dome change in colours every minute. He wonders, what happened for it to do so. So he asked Taeyong.

“Taeyong, why is that protective dome changing colours every minute?”

“Ah sweetheart, you literally don’t know anything yet huh? It’s probably because the King is strengthening our protective dome so this kingdom will be safe when the war happens outside of the dome.” Taeyong explains briefly, still walking fast and they finally arrived.

This building is much fuller than the other one, Sicheng notices. Sicheng is still familiarizing with the place, when Taeyong finally drops the bomb.

“You know how today is the war day right? I’m worried we don’t have enough-”

The rest of Taeyong’s words seem like a blur for Sicheng. Today is the war day? And Jaehyun didn’t even tell him anything last time? This feels like a dream. Sicheng knows Jaehyun is literally the God of the Sea, but he can’t help but get worried about him and also all his troops. Jaehyun promised him to let him know, but Jaehyun eventually lied to him. 

To say Sicheng is mad is actually an understatement. He’s upset, sad and worried as well. Taeyong must see his worried expression.

“Hey, Sicheng. Are you okay?” Taeyong looks at him worriedly.

“I’m okay.” Sicheng smiles. “Just a personal problem with Jaehyun. But I’m ready to help you today.”

“Okay great! You remember everything I’ve teached you right? Soon the room will be filled with the injured one, hopefully not that much though. I’ll probably assign you along with Doyoung. I’ll be in the operation room, just in case. Good luck Sicheng.” Taeyong pats Sicheng’s back and quickly goes to the operation room.

Sicheng went to search Doyoung, and he finally saw him in one room. They both have a casual conversation, before someone barges into their room, and brings one injured soldier. Luckily his wounds aren’t that deep, so they both quickly cleaned it and wrapped his wounds quickly. The nurses also brought him out as soon as possible so he could rest. Sicheng and Doyoung quickly got overwhelmed by the amount of patients they got. But they keep their calms and just quickly treat them. 

All day long, they both have been so busy with treating their patients. Doyoung is an amazing doctor too. While helping the patients, he would make small talk just to make them feel more at ease, and Sicheng really admired that. 

After a while, they finally got a break. 

“Doyoung, how long usually the war happens?” 

“Hm, this is probably weird, but here, it’s only for a day. So, tonight, this all will end, and we’ll get to see whose win. And my prediction, of course, our kingdom will win.” Doyoung sips on his coffee again.

“Are you sure? With this many injured soldiers?” Sicheng really got worried again.

“Oh, dear Sicheng, seriously, you don’t need to worry. Actually, this isn’t that much. And King Jaehyun indeed has so many troops, so no worries. And in case you forgot, he’s a God after all.”

“That’s what everyone has been saying to me. But you know, I can’t help but to get worried for him. What if he’s hurting? And what if he’s lost even? And even worse, what if I lose him?” Sicheng sighs deeply.

Doyoung just chuckles looking at him, “Sweetheart, are you in love?”

“What?” Sicheng looks at Doyoung as if he just said something weird.

“Yes. I know you’re worried. I’m worried too. But the way I see your expression, and how you ask that all, it looks like you’re worried about someone you love.” Doyoung smirks. 

“There’s no way I’m falling for Jaehyun.” Sicheng whispers to himself.

“There’s yes way you're falling in love with him.” Doyoung answers him. “I know you haven’t seen me a lot since you’re with Taeyong daily. But I saw you when you’re with him, and you look so happy, as if he’s your world. I don’t know, but I think that’s beautiful Sicheng. The way you both look at each other.” Doyoung sighs dreamily.

“But I used to hate him. And now I’m mad and upset at him for not letting me know this. He promised me Doyoung. And he even says I should spend every night with him in exchange for him letting me know about the war.” Sicheng thinks he’s getting upset again just by thinking about it.

“You said it yourself, you USED to hate him, but not now. Not to be me, but I guess, the King won’t let you know just because you would be more worried than this, and working with you in one day, I thought you would even volunteer yourself to join the war even when you can’t fight at all. Right?” Doyoung stares at him. “And not to be me again, but do you think he wants to spend the night with you just to be close and hang out with you? I swear Sicheng, he looks at you the same way as you look at him.”

“This can’t be real.” Sicheng mumbles.

“You could act like what I’ve said isn’t true, but I swear, you better talk to him later, okay? I’ll cheer for your love life!” Doyoung winks.

Before Sicheng says something, someone barges into their room again with another patient. Well, Sicheng should just focus now, and think about his conversation with Doyoung again later.

* * *

The war finally officially finished. Both Sicheng and Doyoung also finished treating the last injured one. Sicheng bids his goodbye to Doyoung as he should report back to Taeyong before going home.

Taeyong is still in the operation room, but thankfully, there’s no one really injured that bad. Taeyong only performs 5 operations today. After saying bye to Taeyong, Sicheng went outside the room, and saw Mark in the waiting room.

“Mark!” 

Mark quickly looks at Sicheng’s way, “Hi, Sicheng.”

“Don’t ‘hi’ me! You basically lie to me this morning too. And what are you doing here? Are you hurt? Oh my God Mark. I swear if you’re hurt, I would freaking lose it.” Sicheng checks on Mark’s hand, face and even body.

Mark just chuckles, shaking his head, “I’m fine Sicheng. No need to worry about me.”

“Everyone has been saying I shouldn’t have to worry, but please let me be worried for now. I swear Mark, if I freaking lose you… I’m glad you’re fine.” Sicheng hugs Mark.

“I’m so sorry I make you worry, Sicheng. You told me to take care and be safe, and of course that’s what I’m doing.” Mark hugs him back. “Anyway, we win.”

“I’m so glad.” Sicheng finally let go of Mark. “And Mark, where is Jaehyun?” 

“Oh...” Mark’s expression changes. “I hope you know this is normal, but he’s in his own treatment room. But he’s fine, I swear he’s fine!” 

“Mark…” Sicheng frowns. “If he’s fine, why would he need to be treated?”

“Okay okay. Maybe he got hurt a bit.” Mark finally tells him the truth.

Sicheng just sighs, “Okay, tell me which room is that?”

It was, of course, the biggest room on the upper floor of their  _ normal  _ hospital. Sicheng quickly made his way to the skybridge, and immediately went up to Jaehyun’s room. 

Sicheng knocked on the door, and someone opened it. Sicheng is shocked to see it is Doyoung. He just went to see Taeyong and talked a bit with Mark, and here’s Doyoung. Doyoung seems to be shocked to see Sicheng too.

“Dear lord, Sicheng, what are you doing here?” Doyoung asks.

“I should ask you the same.” Sicheng sighs. “You could’ve told me too you’ll check on him after our shift together.”

“I’m sorry, I swear I don’t even know I would check up on him, until when we part ways.” Doyoung grimaces. “Anyway, please come in. We’ve finished checking him up though. He’s fine. Go talk to him, tiger.”

Doyoung then motions to other doctors and nurses to leave them alone. And there he saw Jaehyun laying down on the hospital bed. He’s asleep now. So Sicheng just sits on the chair next to the bed. He stares at Jaehyun, thinking about everything they’ve been through for these past few weeks. While Jaehyun here staying mortal, Sicheng went older every single day he spent here. He also wonders, when will he start to develop a feeling for Jaehyun? But thinking about it again, Jaehyun is indeed so nice to him, and he’s also beautiful. He’s beautiful inside out. Everything has been changing ever since Sicheng decided to go from zero again with Jaehyun. And he would never regret doing so.

Sicheng takes Jaehyun’s hand and holds it. He looks so peaceful sleeping. Maybe he’s tired. But well, he deserves all this sleep after everything. So after looking at Jaehyun’s face, Sicheng decides he would sleep too, so he did, while still holding on to Jaehyun’s hand.

And when Sicheng woke up, he was still holding Jaehyun’s hand, but this time, Jaehyun was awake and staring at him. Upon noticing Sicheng waking up, Jaehyun only grins.

“I should’ve been the one who picks you up tonight right.” 

Seeing Jaehyun and his silly grins, makes Sicheng feel upset and mad again. So he lets go of Jaehyun’s hand and stands up.

“Hey Sicheng. What’s wrong?” Jaehyun looks at him worriedly.

“Don’t give me that worried look. I should be the one who’s worried you know. Jaehyun, you almost make me lose my freaking mind. You lie to me. You promised me to tell me when the war happened, and I know nothing. You told me you’ll let me know if I spend every night with you, which I did, but you didn’t let me know about this.”

“Sicheng… I know you’re upset with this. And I’m so sorry. But I have my own reason to do that.”

“Oh yeah? What is that?”

“I can’t really tell you about that.”

“Oh shut up Jaehyun. I hate you so much. I’m so mad and I’m so upset. Fuck. You… I almost fucking lose you, you idiot.” 

Jaehyun just smiles, and makes his way towards Sicheng, pulling him tight into his hold.

“You won’t lose me. I’m here. And I’m fine. I’m so sorry.” 

Without Sicheng knowing, the tears start falling down his face. Jaehyun hugs him even tighter and keeps whispering  _ I’m fine, I’m here, don’t cry _ . 

And once Sicheng stopped crying, Jaehyun brought him to sit down on the bed. 

“Why are you so worried about me, Sicheng? I told you before, I’ll be fine.”

Sicheng still sobs quietly, staring at their joined hands. 

“I’ll tell you my reasons. I don’t want to let you know, just because, first, you would be worried sick if I told you. Second, you would definitely volunteer to join when you can’t even fight. I can’t risk losing you.” Jaehyun starts to explain, pulling Sicheng closer to him. “And the reason why I want you to spend every night with me, is purely just because I want to be closer with you Sicheng. Why do you think I’ve been getting jealous with Mark? It’s because he’s so close to you and I want that too.”

“What do you mean?” Sicheng now stares at Jaehyun.

“The reason why I want to save you? It’s because I’ve taken interest in you Sicheng. We meet every time we have a meeting right? You just sit there, always looking so beautiful. I took that chance to be closer to you, and as days passed by, I realized, my feelings changed. I used to only be interested in you, but now I know that I like you. Well, I love you. I love you Sicheng. I don’t know if you would reciprocate my feelings, but I love you. I can’t lose you. You’re a human now Sicheng, there’s too many risks to let you out there. I just want to protect you. You’re so important to me.”

Sicheng only gapes. He definitely can’t believe what he’s been hearing.

“Can you say it again? So it feels real?” Sicheng requests.

Jaehyun giggles, “Sure. I love you Sicheng, I really do.”

“And I love you too Jaehyun. I didn’t know when it started, but Doyoung knocked some senses to me today, and well, I do love you. I’m so scared to lose you too. I can’t afford that.” Sicheng snuggles to Jaehyun’s neck.

“You won’t have to. I’ll protect myself, and I’ll protect you.” Jaehyun plans a kiss on Sicheng’s head. 

“You know what? I didn’t regret giving up my mortality. That’s what makes us meet like this. And I definitely will not regret starting from zero again with you. I’m glad Jaehyun.”

“I’m glad too, Sicheng.”

Their faces are so close now. Jaehyun could see how beautiful Sicheng’s eyes are, and Sicheng could see how smooth Jaehyun’s skin looked. They stare at each other for a while, before someone finally closes the gaps between them. They finally kiss for the first time. This feels so liberating. Sicheng thought in his mind, so this is what he’s been looking for his whole life. Being with Jaehyun is natural for Sicheng. Sicheng finally got to be loved and to be in love. 

And they both finally spend their night again together, this time with more skinships and more kisses.

* * *

“Mark, are you sure that’s the way?” Jaehyun looks at what Mark has written in front of him.

“Yes Sir, I’m so sure! I’ve read all the books, and literature. I even prayed for the Lord and he told me that way by himself in my dream.” Mark nods enthusiastically.

“Okay then. Please help me prepare then.”

“Right at your service sir!” Mark grins, and quickly leaves the room. Jaehyun isn’t sure if this is the right way. But well, this is worth trying. He could only hope Mark would not spill this all to Sicheng and ruin everything.

As if on cue, Sicheng suddenly went into Jaehyun’s room, “What’s with Mark? Why is he in a hurry?”

“He wants to go to the bathroom, he said.” Jaehyun smoothly lies. That’s a great start.

“Oh, okay! Anyway, what are you up to?” 

“Soon, it’ll be a full moon. And we usually have a festival here, and at night, I would invite my people to come here and attend the ball.” Jaehyun explains. “I’m here, trying to decide how I would like to decorate our ballroom.”

“I could help you with that! I’m sure you have tons of things to do aside from that. I’m good at decorating.” Sicheng offers himself.

“Yeah, okay sure. You could maybe ask Ten to help you. He’s great in the arts. And Mark is pretty busy doing my other tasks for me.”

“Okay sure!” Sicheng kisses Jaehyun and heads out to search for Ten.

Couple days passed by, and Sicheng was busy going to the hospital and decorating the ballroom along with Ten. Jaehyun has been busy too with stuff. Sicheng didn’t really ask about that, but recently he saw Jaehyun with Mark going out and coming back late. 

Ever since their confessions, Sicheng has been staying in Jaehyun’s room. So he would feel the bed dipped when Jaehyun comes back and hugs him from the back. And usually, Sicheng won’t even see Jaehyun in the morning because he heads out already. But Sicheng understands that. Jaehyun is a God and a king anyway.

Soon, the day of the full moon festival finally came. The people of Jaehyun’s kingdom started to celebrate it in the morning. Sicheng could see the hectic and full road from their windows, and it makes him excited for tonight. Technically, Jaehyun won’t join their festival outside, so he would just invite them inside. This would probably be the first time Sicheng would see Jaehyun’s people though.

Mark prepares a light blue suit for him tonight. It’s quite fancy looking but still comfortable for Sicheng to wear. Jaehyun wears a silver suit tonight. So they both basically represent the colour of their kingdom. Sicheng could feel the crowd's voice from the ballroom, and he’s super excited. 

Jaehyun finally took his hand and brought him to the ballroom. The ballroom that he and Ten have been working on these past few days. And Sicheng is definitely satisfied with the results. 

“This looks beautiful, sweetheart.” Jaehyun compliments.

They both mingle with Jaehyun’s people, and Sicheng could see Jaehyun as a king now. He’s charismatic but still nice at the same time. He smiles to everyone, and he’s even up for conversations with his people, whether it consists of compliments, or just constructive criticism. And when the full moon finally ends up on everyone’s head, that’s when the main event starts.

Jaehyun walks to the big balcony that faces the ballroom underneath. He still holds on to Sicheng’s hand.

And what Sicheng didn’t expect is when Jaehyun suddenly pulled a ring from his suit and kneel before him. Sicheng also hears the gasp from everyone.

“Dear my love, Sicheng. It’s been a while since I confessed my love to you. And now here I am, kneeling before you, in front of my people, to ask you, would you give me an honour to spend my whole life with you along my side? As I promised before, I would protect myself, you, and my people. Please give me your answer.”

Sicheng still feels so shocked, but he nods right away, pulling Jaehyun up to kiss him on his lips. Sicheng could feel Jaehyun smiling through their kiss, and he could hear everyone cheering for them. The ring fits right to Sicheng’s ring finger.

“Ladies, gentleman, and honoured guests, I present to you, King Jaehyun, and his beloved fiance, King Sicheng.” 

And everyone immediately bows in front of them. This definitely feels quite overwhelming for Sicheng, so he holds Jaehyun’s close, trying to control his own emotions.

Suddenly angels came down from the sky, and blessed two of them, with some shining lights. After them both bowing to the angels, the angels went back up again.

But the rest of the night went so well. Everybody enjoyed the dance and the food. Sicheng feels happiness radiates from everyone too. And when the nights end, he and Jaehyun finally rest in their bedroom again.

“Jaehyun, you should’ve told me about that. I almost can’t control my emotions.” Sicheng stares at his ring. “And this is beautiful too. It fits perfectly.”

“Of course I can’t tell you, that would ruin the surprise. And I’m glad it fits. I’ve been searching for the right one with Mark these past few days.”

“So, you’ve been planning for this?”

“Yes!”

“But why?”

“I know this is probably too fast for you. But as I said before, I want to protect you. I asked Mark to find a way to make you mortal again. He finds it anyway. He said I should propose to you right at the full moon, and when angels blessed us, you would become mortal again. So you'll be stuck with me forever from now on.” Jaehyun plants a kiss on Sicheng’s nose, earning a giggles from him.

“Oh my God, right. I thought this is so random for you to do. But I’m glad I’m now your fiance. And well, thank God I’ll be here to annoy you forever now.” Sicheng laughs.

“I’m up for that, fiance.” Jaehyun replies.

“I love you so much, my beloved fiance.” Sicheng kisses Jaehyun softly.

“I love you so much too, my precious fiance.” Jaehyun kisses him back again, pouring all his feelings on that.

Once again, they let the nights pass by with love surrounding them. It was a beautiful night.

**Author's Note:**

> you reach the end!! hopefully you enjoy it! 
> 
> i'll really appreciate it if you could spare me any kudos or comments uwu, and i hope i'll see you later on my next fics♡ 
> 
> hit me on [twt](https://twitter.com/jaewinbfs) or [cc](https://curiouscat.me/monbaebae) and lets be friends!


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